Gulag. A History (Penguin Books)

'Important and moving... A terrifying and unforgettable story' Antony Beevor The Gulag was Russia’s forgotten holocaust. The largest network of concentration camps ever created, it murdered millions and haunted all those who came out alive.

Here, for the first time, is the full, moving story of its countless victims: how they lived, laboured, suffered – and survived to bear witness to one of history’s most terrible crimes. ‘Terrifying, searing … one of the great untold stories of the twentieth century … a triumph’ Richard Overy, Sunday Telegraph ‘Extraordinary … heartrending, painful … devastating’ T.

J. Binyon, Daily Mail ‘An outstanding book, whose importance is almost impossible to exaggerate’ Michael Burleigh, The Times Literary Supplement ‘A magisterial study that brings to life the hell of Russia’s Gulags … it moves as much as it shocks’ Simon Sebag Montefiore, Daily Telegraph ‘She has constructed from novels, records and scraps of paper a heaving, breathing testament of experience … and made the names of Solovetsky, Kolyma, Norlisk and others resound with the same dull echo of evil as Auschwitz’ Hugh MacDonald, The Herald ‘This book is a monument to their suffering, and to read it is to honour that suffering’ Adam Zamoyski, Spectator Anne Applebaum speaks to us about her writing rituals, inspirations and influences and of course, her experiences of Russia.

1980s, I spent several years living in Poland and travelling a good deal in the former USSR. While doing so, I met a number of people who had been in Soviet camps - and realized that I knew surprisingly few details about these camps.

I started to ask myself why. At first, I wanted to write a book that would talk about 'Western perceptions of Soviet camps'. Then I realized that it was possible to write about the camps themselves, using archives - and I decided to try it.